Early Voting, Voter Turnout and Ballot Secrecy   Early voting, is a form of in-person absentee voting. The voter casts a ballot in front of an elections official before the official poll date. Exact dates for the opening and closing of early voting depend on the state and type of election, but usually occur approximately two weeks and approximately three or four days before the election date, respectively. Voting occurs at select sites in the various counties; availablity depends on the number of sites (DOE offices and county libraries) and the times of operation (usually 4-10 hours a day). 23 of the United States currently allow early voting.   Most voters do not realize that when they vote early, their ballot is tied directly to them.  Nor do voters realize how ballot secrecy is key to protecting our democracy.  Approximately 1/3 of all North Carolinians voted early in 2004.   Voter turnout - In September 2004, the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate published a report  stating that "no excuse absentee voting and early voting actually hurt voter turnout.. pose other risks to the health ofthe American political system. ...It is incandescently clear that the turnout problem is not one of procedure but of motivation and it is to this problem that the majority ofattention and energy should be devoted." Importance of the Secret Ballot -- The secret ballot is a voting method in which a voter's choices are confidential. The key aim is to ensure the voter records a sincere choice by forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation or bribery. It is also known as the Australian ballot, because it originated in Australia during the 1850s. The system is one means of achieving the goal of political privacy. Secret ballots are suitable for many different voting systems. In the most basic form, the system provides for pre-printed ballot papers with the name of the candidates and respective checkbox. Provisions are made at the polling place for the voter to record their preferences in secret. These ballots are then placed into sealed boxes and emptied later for counting. The ballots are specifically designed to prevent anyone from linking voter to ballot. More information about the Secret Ballot at Wikipedia   Two NC election officials describe early voting and ballot secrecy issues -- County official's description of early voting on Direct Record Electronic (DREs, touchscreen or pushbutton) I have no problems with DRE systems in early voting because you can track and recreate each distinct vote  as it is always tied to the name of the voter in the process, and the vote does not get randomized (and made anonymous) as it does in a general ballot.  I can spot check and audit back to the voter's individual marks in an early voting DRE use (a big part of my role as a guarantor of the process, I think) - I can't in a general ballot situation with DREs currently.  During early voting, we have been told by election officials that on DREs, at least - the vote is tied to the voter, that you can tie the name to the actual ballot, and officials can look at that ballot and see how you voted. The ballot can be removed from the machine if need be. *what reasons dictate the removal of a early vote ballot from the machine? The vote is tied to the voter even on optical scan/paper ballots - we are required to put the ID number on the ballot itself (or enter it into the DRE before the voter votes).  The same process is designated on absentee ballots.  The reason for this is that absentee ballots including one-stop voters must be approved by the board and can be challenged by any voter.  So at the absentee meeting, if it is determined by the board that the voter is ineligble for whatever reason, the ballot could then be removed.  Also if the voter votes on election day (which shouldn't happen but sometimes does) the absentee or one-stop ballot can then be removed and the vote subtracted so that the voter does not have their ballot counted twice. Next, I have been told by Don Wright that the voting machines used for early voting cannot be used on election day, because they are programmed differently. *Why would that matter? Early voting machines contain the entire ballots for all precincts rather than the individual precinct ballots so that anyone in the county can vote on them regardless of where they live.  Also we protect the integrity of the machines by not using them until after canvass where possible in order that if there is a problem we can go back and look at it and know nothing has changed since election day or since early voting.  *Secrecy of ballot? There is no question that people voting absentee or one-stop give up some of the privacy of the ballot.  It is marked with a number that can identify the ballot.  However, every effort is made to protect the secrecy of the ballot because for instance if the board is looking at it, they are only seeing the number not a name. *Problem that someone might vote out of precinct? People vote outside their precinct for a variety of reasons, some are that they never changed their address with us, or some just don't want to go to the correct precinct and prefer to go to some place next to their work or where they perceive may be closer to their home.  Given the uncertainty regarding provisional ballots and what should count or not, we must be able to either remove all or a portion of the voters ballot if it is determined they are not eligible to vote at that location (which i think is totally wrong)  that is the purpose of provisionals anyway and any vote for which the voter is entitled to vote should be counted.